


due dates and date nights

by AGracefulShadow



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Magic School, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Potions Accident, Shapeshifting, magic!, magical university, started this one in the hospital on notebook paper as well, yeah thats right im writing fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28716975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGracefulShadow/pseuds/AGracefulShadow
Summary: Friday night is date night. This is a fact of Gahyeon and Handong's relationship. Except Friday night is also the same night Gahyeon's Potions final is due. In an effort to do both at the same time, Gahyeon rushes through her Potions final and tosses it in a soda bottle for safekeeping. Except True Shifter looks a lot like Mountain Dew, and Handong sure is thirsty...
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Lee Gahyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	due dates and date nights

**Author's Note:**

> owo what's this??? a story where no one dies??? incredible!!!!
> 
> i started this one in the hospital too as a break from the Drama and i figured youd all enjoy it too. it wasn't supposed to be 10k words but eh. so it is. 
> 
> i may be writing more in this universe here and there, idk yet tho >:) enjoy

Friday night is date night; this is the rule. Gahyeon established that six months ago back when she and Handong made it official - every other Friday, they are going to have a formal date, because Lord knows the life of a university wizard is a busy one indeed. When they had established this rule, Gahyeon feared that they'd get bogged down in work and never see each other, much like what happened with her previous relationship.

But maybe her last boyfriend had just been a selfish ass who didn't like spending time with her, judging from the way Handong so casually talks to her and makes an effort. It's almost often enough that the Friday night rule isn't so much as rule as a suggestion that Gahyeon clings to for a sense of stability. 

She snaps her attention back to her work at hand just in time for the dropper of dragon's blood in her hand to slip right into the flask bubbling merrily away on top of her Bunsen burner. "God  _ dammit _ ," she mutters, wiping the splash back off of her face and leaning back. "Not again."

Her desk is scattered with various potion making equipment - tiny glass bottles stoppered with wood; wooden, marble, iron stirrers and sieves; a pewter mortar and pestle - and she knocks some of it aside in a desperate search for her tweezers. The flask that is her potion final has turned a disheartening shade of magenta. She groans, picks up the tweezers, and fishes the tiny bottle of dragon's blood out of it. Yet another attempt down the drain. And she's almost out of dragon's blood. She picks up the flask of failed potion and dumps it in the trash. It sizzles in the bottom of the bin. She wrinkles her nose at the smell of melting plastic.

On paper, the assignment for her Animal Potions 102 final is easy. Pick one of the potions we have  _ studied _ , but not  _ made,  _ and make it; provide photographic evidence of the efficacy of said potion and a sample. Gahyeon's succeeded throughout the semester - she's got a B+ in the class, which is better than her other two classes - and the teacher likes her. Of the four potions she has to choose from, of course she chooses the most difficult one. Maybe, she's bit off more than she can chew. 

She picks up the last flask that she has left to cook the potion in and sets it on the Bunsen burner. The flame glows a gentle blue. She leans over her stained and yellowed textbook and squints at the ingredients for the  _ True Shifter _ potion. "Two pints moon water, a leaf of basil, four drops sage oil, three drops dragon's blood, a dash of cinnamon," she reads aloud. "Stir counterclockwise fifteen times. Alright, now where do I keep messing up?"

Meticulously, she picks up each ingredient and adds it to the flask. The potion smells much like an interesting soup. She twirls her favorite wooden stirrer in her fingers, scans the next few steps. Stir, add juniper leaf powder (as much as necessary) and a dash of fairy dust. 

" _ Leaf _ powder!" she says. "Dumbass, you were adding  _ juice _ !" 

She stirs the potion exactly fifteen times and tosses the powder in. The potion turns a lovely, electric shade of green, much like the Mountain Dew that's been fueling her studying. It matches the picture in the textbook much better now. She grins and turns the Bunsen burner off, letting the potion cool as the recipe declares. Here's the difficult part - if she doesn't work quickly, the dust will gelatinize the potion and she'll be back to square one. 

In a flurry of activity, Gahyeon sweeps three small bottles into her hand and drops the final ingredients into the flask. " _ Dongmul-idoeda _ !" she says, running her hand over the glass. Magic flickers and sparks from her fingertips; the potion begins to glow. Her face splits into a grin. "Oh, fuck yeah!" She pushes away from the table and whoops. "Finally! I got it right!" 

Maybe date night is safe after all. Now to put the potion in a bottle and track down the squirrel she'll test it on. She leans over her desk and searches for the right glassware. Unfortunately, she finds nothing empty, save for a huge glass cup way too big for transporting in her backpack. She purses her lips, leans back, taps her chin in thought. There has to be something she can put it in. 

Her gaze drops on the empty bottle of Mountain Dew sitting next to her supplies. Eh, it'll work for now. She picks up the cool potion and slowly tips it into the bottle. It fizzles and bubbles, much like the soda that once occupied the container. In fact, when she screws the lid back on, it's barely distinguishable from a half empty container of Mountain Dew. Oh well. She'll be fine.

She gathers together her dirtied supplies - of which there are many - in her arms and moves from her desk to the little kitchenette that takes up about half of her and Handong's apartment. The sink is small, but it'll do, especially if she takes her girlfriend  _ out _ to eat tonight. As delicately as she can, she dumps the glassware into the basin and turns on the hot water. Maybe she should just leave it to soak.

She picks up the dish soap and squirts some into the basin. 

The door opens. "Gahyeonie?" sings Handong from the front. "Are you in here?"

Gahyeon yelps as the water gets  _ too _ hot and pulls her hand away from the sink. "Uh-huh! Sorry about the mess, I was just finishing up my Potions final." She fishes out a wooden spoon from the bottom of the basin, not without muffled swears and perhaps a mild scald. "Didn't want it to interfere with date night tonight, y'know?"

"Oh, dear," Handong says. She comes around into the kitchenette, loops her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, and smiles warmly at her. "You know your work takes precedence, right? We can miss one date night."

Gahyeon brandishes the spoon and shakes her head. "Absolutely not. That's not allowed." 

Handong rolls her eyes. "We're literally roommates, dear. I don't think I could forget about you if I tried." Even so, she seems to be conceding; she lifts her arm off Gahyeon and steps back. "I'll go get ready, then. What are we doing tonight?" 

"There's a cool horror movie coming out tonight," Gahyeon says. She stirs the glassware around the basin with the spoon. "Maybe we could go there, then get dinner? Or dinner first? Which sounds better to you?" 

She can't see her girlfriend from this angle. "That sounds fun," Handong says. Rustles something like she's sitting on the bed. "Where would we go? Also, hope you don't mind, but I'm finishing your drink. I haven't had anything to drink in hours."

"Go ahead," Gahyeon says on instinct. She sets the spoon aside and shakes some of the water off her hands. "I was thinking AMC? They have the- Wait, what drink?" She rockets out of the kitchenette, just in time to see Handong drinking what is  _ definitely not Mountain Dew _ earnestly. Gahyeon squeals, rushes forward, and knocks the bottle out of the other girl's hands. "Holy  _ shit,  _ no!" 

Handong flinches back and falls onto the bed behind her. "Okay, that was  _ definitely _ not what I was expecting," she says, wiping the remnants of green potion from her lips. "Wait, was-"

Gahyeon practically throws herself at the ground and tries to scoop what's left of the spilled potion back into the bottle, but much of it has already absorbed into the beige carpet. "My  _ final _ ," she wails. "You drank my  _ final _ ." She stares at the weird green stain and her hands.

"What's going to happen?" Handong asks. 

Gahyeon doesn't get a chance to answer, because when she turns around, there's a brilliant flash of light, and her girlfriend is no longer sitting there. Instead, there is a lump of white cardigan and t-shirt. Gahyeon claps her hand over her mouth and squeaks. " _ Handong _ !" She shuffles over to the bed and puts her hands on the clothing. "Oh, my God, are you alright?" 

A small, furry brown head pokes out of the neck hole of the t-shirt. It blinks at Gahyeon with deep blue eyes and meows. 

Gahyeon puts her hand on the cat's side and picks it up. "H-Handong?" she stammers, moving the tabby cat around so that she can examine it better. 

It purrs and rubs its face into her hand. Gahyeon makes a weird, animalistic noise and pulls Handong the Cat into her chest. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, babe," she says. She pets the soft spot between Handong's ears. "I-I didn't mean to- okay, well, at least I know it works…" 

Handong purrs. Gahyeon giggles. "Okay, okay, that definitely helps." She puts the cat back on the bed and pushes herself to her feet. "But- Don't worry, okay? I'll just- I can fix this. Yeah. I can definitely fix this." Combs her hands through her pink hair. "Just gimme a sec." She whirls around and marches back over to her desk. 

Handong meows loudly. "Thanks," Gahyeon says, even though she has no idea what her girlfriend meant. "Maybe I should figure out how to make you  _ talk _ again, first."

She runs her finger down the ingredient-stained page for  _ True Shifter _ and reads the description out loud. "'Upon consuming the potion, the drinker is turned into an animal of their choice-' okay, that explains why you're a  _ cat _ \- 'and the duration of the effect depends on the amount consumed and the amount of juniper leaf in the potion, as juniper leaf is the key ingredient…'" She straightens up and taps her chin. "Uh… How much did I put in?"

Handong meows again. Gahyeon waves her hand to silence her and tries to recall the specifics of her method. Judging from how green the potion had become, she must have added a lot. 

She closes her eyes and pictures herself dumping two spoonfuls in. 

Closes her hand into a fist. "Well, fuck," she says to herself. "This could get interesting."

Handong jumps off the bed and wanders over to Gahyeon's legs, wrapping her tail around her ankle. Gahyeon laughs, stoops to give her a little scratch on the back. "You're very good at being a cat," she says. "Which is a little concerning. But hey, as long as you're enjoying yourself." She turns back to her textbook and reads further. "'Typically, the transformation can last up to  _ three days _ , but this can be lengthened or shortened by administering more  _ True Shifter _ or the  _ True Form _ potion.'" She slaps the textbook. " _ Three days? _ Oh, no." 

Handong makes a "prrp?" noise. "Y-Yeah, we really screwed up here," Gahyeon says. The cat does not reply to that, just hops up on the chair and puts her paws on the desk. "At least there's an antidote." 

She picks up the textbook and flips through the pages, searching for the  _ True Form _ page and lamenting her stupidity. Of course she had to pick the most difficult potion to attempt. If she'd just gone with, say  _ Strength of Bear _ or  _ Birdsong _ , Handong would still be human and capable of speech. Sure, she might be stupidly buff or temporarily a siren, but at least those would be  _ fun _ side effects. Kitty Handong, while cute, is a bit of a nuisance. At least she is still  _ herself _ . 

"Here we go," Gahyeon says. She puts the book back down on the desk and jabs at the page with her index finger. " _ True Form _ \- A potion used to revert people, animals, or objects back to their original or true form. Often used as an antidote for curses. Not to be attempted by beginners, due to its volatility…' What does  _ that _ mean?" She looks at the tabby cat, who is trying to pull herself on the desk proper, and shrugs. "Well, I'm no beginner, anyway. So this should be fine." She swallows and continues to read. 

Handong smacks one of her paws on the middle of the page; she has white mittens, Gahyeon notices. "What?" the younger girl asks. 

The cat meows and taps the page again. "' _ True Form  _ takes three days to brew, but keeps for up to a decade once finished,'" Gahyeon reads. 

Handong meows again.

" _ Three days _ ." Gahyeon's legs turn to jelly beneath her, and she sinks into the desk chair. "Oh, my Lord, three days." She buries her face in her hands. "Okay then."

Her mind races to come up with a plan. She'll call her teacher and claim that she and Handong have come down with a particularly nasty stomach bug, complete with fake dry heaving. Then, she'll text the group chat the same thing and use that as an excuse for why neither of them can leave the apartment  _ and _ why no one can come visit, and then she'll sneak out to gather the ingredients in the middle of the night to avoid getting caught and make the potion. It's a foolproof plan that can only be thwarted by Bora's lack of self preservation and insistence on visiting or Yoohyeon's desire to bring some food to help them feel better or Minji being, well, Minji or-

Handong butts her head against Gahyeon's hands. Gahyeon opens her eyes. "What?" she asks, half moping.

The cat slides Gahyeon's phone across the desk and meows. Gahyeon looks at it blankly. "Uh, what?" 

Handong meows again and presses her nose on the screen, which activates it. There's a notification from the "Dream Catcherzz" group chat - all it says is [Yoohyeon has sent an image.] "Are you saying I should ask for help?" she asks, picking her phone up and unlocking it. 

Handong purrs. Gahyeon makes a face and checks the message. It's a meme about finals week that elicits a [lol] from her and nothing more. "Why would I do that? Ask for help, I mean. I can definitely handle this on my own." She looks at her girlfriend. "We just have to hide for three days."

Handong might not be able to talk, but the look in her eyes is very clearly,  _ Really, Gahyeon?  _ The girl smiles awkwardly. "B-Besides, if Bora finds out I turned you into a cat, she will kill me. Or turn me into like, a naked mole rat. And I don't wanna be a naked mole rat." She grimaces. "They're… Well, naked." 

Handong blinks at her. Gahyeon feels herself withering under the judgemental gaze of her cat girlfriend. "I mean, I guess I don't have to go to Bora," she says, dropping her eyes to her phone screen. "I could just go to, um, Yoobin. She can do a bit of everything. Or Yoohyeon, who can make you talk. Or maybe Siyeon." She flexes her fingers. "There is a bit of a problem, though. I don't have a familiar, and this means you're illegal to have on campus. And someone's gonna kick my ass if they find you."

Handong flicks her tail at the floor. Lying on the ground next to the desk is Gahyeon's white backpack, which is half open. Gahyeon glances at it, then back at the cat. "You want me to carry you in that?" she asks. "Like, deadass?"

Handong  _ prrp _ s again. Gahyeon toes the backpack - it rustles with notes and papers that it's been stuffed with. "Okay then. Sure." She pushes her chair aside, bends over to pick her bag up, and turns it upside down. Two notebooks, no less than seven pencils, a crushed granola bar, and countless handouts and worksheets tumble out. "Maybe I should clean that out," she mutters, more to herself than her girlfriend. "Lemme put your clothes in first! Because you're gonna come back naked, and God knows where we'll be when that happens." She stumbles over to the bed and balls her girlfriend's abandoned cardigan up in her hands. The magnifying glass that Handong uses as her focus slips out and bounces on the floor. Luckily, it doesn't break. Gahyeon shoves the cardigan in her bag before picking up the necklace. "Maybe I should just wear this, so it doesn't get crushed, hm?" she says, holding it up in front of the light. Handong meows in what seems like agreement - but really, Gahyeon's only guessing at this point. She nods at the tabby and puts the necklace around her neck. As a precaution, she tucks it under her sweater. Just in case someone notices it. 

When she's finally got the bag all set up - which takes longer than necessary, as jeans are notoriously difficult to roll up - Handong appears to have gotten bored. She's rubbing one white paw over her face. "Ready?" Gahyeon says, clapping her hands together. 

The cat meows and smooths the fur on her face. Gahyeon nods once, crosses the room to scoop her up, and sighs. "At least you're a  _ cute _ cat," she says, holding Handong Lion King style. "Imagine if you were one of those really ugly white ones, with like the smushed faces-"

Handong bats her on the nose and hisses. "Hey," Gahyeon whines. "I'd still take care of you." She turns around and puts her in the backpack. "I'm gonna close the top, okay? Not all the way. If it gets uncomfortable just, like, start screaming or something, I guess? I dunno. I think I'm doing a pretty good job figuring you out."

Handong squints at her. Gahyeon chooses to ignore it and zips the backpack up enough so that all she can see is the cat's tiny pink nose. "Off we go!" 

She puts the backpack on, grabs her keys and phone, and heads off at a pace fast enough to cover ground, but slow enough as to hopefully  _ not _ jostle her girlfriend too much. Handong doesn't complain. Maybe she's doing  _ something _ right. 

First stop, Yoobin. The divination major is always a good person to talk to in a crisis of any variety, magical or otherwise, even if most of her advice consists of telling Gahyeon to think things through or stop worrying or something else depressingly obvious like that. Gahyeon adjusts the strap of her backpack and pushes the button for the dorm elevator. Perhaps taking the stairs would be faster, but there are three flights, and Gahyeon would prefer if her girlfriend didn't puke in her nice white backpack. 

The elevator already has an occupant when the door opens - one of the guys from the upper floor, Kim Hongjoong. He's in her Numerology class. "Sup," he says, already hitting the first floor button. 

"Hi!" Gahyeon chirps. She tries to smile and act like everything's fine. She feels Handong shifting in her backpack. 

The boy raises one of his eyebrows. "All good, Gahyeon?" he asks. "You look stressed." 

Her grimace falls. "Oh, you know," she says, wrapping her fingers around the straps of her bag. "Finals season and all that."

"Oh, yeah." Hongjoong smiles sympathetically and nudges her side. "Eh, you'll do fine, I'm sure." 

She chuckles weakly at him. "Thanks. I appreciate it." She pauses, looks at the doors. "You too, by the way. You'll do well." Smiles. The awkwardness is starting to sink in. It is not helped by the feeling of Handong's tiny paws kneading into her spine, nor by the distinctly cat-like yawn she makes. Gahyeon feels her heart stop. 

Hongjoong is giving her a strange look. "Is there something in your bag?" 

"It's cursed," she says, a  _ little too fast _ . Her face breaks into a grin. "Y'know, Miyeon thought it'd be a fun little prank to pull. Cursed my bag. Now it meows." The elevator door slides open way too slowly for her liking. "So I'm going to get it fixed. See ya later, Hongjoong!" She spins around so she's walking backwards out of the elevator and waves a farewell. She doesn't turn back around until she reaches the exit of the dorms. Then, she swings her backpack around and unzips it enough that she can look in it. 

Handong pokes her head up and meows questioningly. "Okay, maybe be quiet in public," Gahyeon hisses. She lengthens her strides so she's almost running. "We almost got in trouble. And if he asks Miyeon, we're really fucked."

She darts her gaze up to make sure no one's around, but the only other person walking across the plaza has massive headphones on, and she can hear the music in them from here. Handong meows again. "You're going away now," Gahyeon says. She zips the bag up, swings it back onto her back, and officially breaks into a run. At least Yoobin's predictable - but if she's  _ not _ at the library, Gahyeon's in trouble.

Seoul University For Magic is by far not the biggest magical school in the world, but it's by no means small, and the Leez Building that houses her dormitory happens to be the farthest from the JYP Library, even with the shortcut through the gardens. She hops a bush - Handong yowls from her bag. "Sorry!" Gahyeon mutters. "But this is faster. Please don't puke, please don't puke, please don't puke-"

She scrabbles her way between two hedges and pauses in front of the massive archway that marks the JYP Library-Student Center just as the sun is starting to set and casting the plaza with brilliant orange beams. Her chest heaves. Handong makes a noise of obvious discomfort. 

"Yeah, yeah," Gahyeon mumbles. "It'll be over soon."

She dusts mulch from the bottom of her pants and waits for her breathing to steady before she pulls the glass door to the library open and steps inside. The receptionist gives her a funny look as she walks up. "May I help you?" he asks, holding up the scanner so she can swipe her student ID and check in.

Gahyeon slides it out of the wallet on the back of her phone case and nods. "Is Lee Yoobin in here?" she asks. 

The receptionist taps a few buttons on his computer. "She should be."

Gahyeon thanks her lucky stars and whatever deity is watching over her. "Any idea where she is?" she asks. 

"Knowing her, the recreational section." He sits back down and motions for her to move on. Gahyeon does so quickly, swinging her backpack around to better access it. Mercifully, Handong remains quiet this time. Gahyeon puts her finger through the top of the bag to give her nose a little pat.

Despite the late hour, much of the library is populated with students, no doubt due to it being finals week. Gahyeon picks her way around tables as quietly as she can. She spots Yoobin fairly quickly; the older girl's in her usual spot in the corner, by the fantasy novels. Her tarot cards are lying next to her on the table. 

She pulls one out as Gahyeon approaches it and flicks it towards her. It's a bleeding heart with three swords sticking out of it. "You need help with something, don't you?" she says without looking up from the book in her hand. 

"Jeez," Gahyeon mutters, and she pulls the chair next to Yoobin out and takes a seat. "Can't keep anything a surprise, huh?"

Yoobin smiles. "There's always trouble with you," she says. She picks up her deck and slides the card back into it. "What's up?"

Gahyeon puts her backpack in her lap. Within it, Handong wriggles. "So, promise not to get mad," she says, resting her hands on the top of it. 

Yoobin closes her book and stares at the bag. "I can do that…?" she says. "Sorry, was that moving?"

Gahyeon pulls the zipper down just enough for Handong to stick her fluffy brown face out. The cat meows - softly - at Yoobin. 

Yoobin giggles. "When'd you pick this cutie up?" she asks, lifting her finger to pet Handong between the eyes. Handong purrs. 

"Twenty minutes ago," Gahyeon replies. "So, you know-"

"You're very friendly for a cat that's been in a backpack," Yoobin says, seemingly without hearing her. Handong purrs some more. 

Gahyeon sighs. "That's because that's Handong."

Yoobin pulls her hand away from the cat, who twists her head to Gahyeon and meows almost indignantly, as if she had been enjoying being pet. "Sorry, what?" the older girl says. "That's Handong?" 

"Y'see," Gahyeon begins. She puts the backpack on the table and folds her hands in her lap. "I was just doing my Potions final, and I didn't have any place to put it, so I used an old Mountain Dew bottle, and then Handong kinda… Drank the Mountain Dew that wasn't Mountain Dew, and now she's a cat." She smiles awkwardly, scratches the back of her neck. "The problem is, the antidote takes three days to brew, and the spell itself might take a few days to wear off. So." Bounces her legs up and down. "Do you know any spells or like, anyone who does, who could maybe turn her back into a human? Preferably soon?"

Yoobin leans on her hand and nods. "Yeah," she says, shrugging. "Bora."

Gahyeon feels the blood drain from her face. "Ah, but like, I can't do that-" 

"Why not?" Yoobin arches an eyebrow. 

Gahyeon swallows. "Well, Bora's her best friend, and she loves Handong as much as I do, maybe, and she's gonna be kinda mad, right? And then she'll take it out on me and turn me into like… A snake. Or a fish. Or something like that." She shivers. "Don't you know any other druids?"

Yoobin rolls her eyes, almost smiling. "Bora's not gonna do that," she says. "She'll know you didn't mean to. Even if you did do it on purpose, she might just tease you, but she wouldn't get  _ that _ mad." 

"You're laughing," Gahyeon says. "I turned my girlfriend into a  _ cat _ and you're laughing." She digs her fingers into her knees. "Look, are you sure there's no one else I can talk to?"

Yoobin shrugs and leans back, away from the sudden intensity in Gahyeon's voice. "The only other transmutation major I know  _ of _ is Somin's friend, and he's out of town." She picks up her deck of cards. "You want me to draw something for you?"

Gahyeon nods. "Yes  _ please _ ." 

Her bag meows plaintively. Yoobin pulls her cards out and starts shuffling them; her fingers flicker with blue magic as she does so. "Who should Miss Gahyeon go to for assistance?" she asks. The cards bend in a bridge, crackle with electricity. She picks two from the middle of the pack and turns them over. The first is a small chariot being pulled in opposite directions by two opposite colored horses; the second is a woman, sitting on a throne, holding a cup. Yoobin taps the cards and looks directly at Gahyeon. Her eyes glow a dull blue from the magic she's casting. "The cards say, the obvious choice."

The younger girl feels a pit slowly open in the bottom of her stomach. "Oh," she says. 

"That means Bora."

"Oh."

Yoobin's eyes flicker back to their regular color. "There you have it, Gahyeon." She picks up the cards and slips them back in the deck. 

"Are you  _ sure _ there's no one else?" the younger girl sort of whines, wringing her hands. "Like, at all?"

Yoobin shrugs and folds the box of the cards shut. "If you really insist, I'd talk to Yoohyeon. But you're just prolonging the inevitable-"

"Yoohyeon, got it." Gahyeon rises, picks up her backpack, and throws it over her shoulder - much to Handong's grumble of disapproval. "Where would she be?"

Yoobin taps her deck of cards again until something slips out - some image of a tower, flickering in blue light until is undeniably the student rec center. "Playing video games," she says. "No surprise there."

Gahyeon nods curtly and pushes her chair back under the table. "Thanks, Yoobin!" she chirps. "And, um, good luck on your finals."

The older girl turns back to her book and waves a farewell. Gahyeon hurries her way back through the maze of desks towards the exit of the library. She swipes her card again to check out and jogs her way up the glass stairs opposite the library. From her backpack, Handong meows. She sounds decidedly displeased. Gahyeon ignores her. Sure, she's being stupid, but she'd really rather  _ end _ the day in the same form that she  _ started _ in. And the easiest way to guarantee that would be to avoid Bora.

She hops up the last few steps and freezes.  _ Ah, of course _ . 

Leaving the rec center at this very moment is no other than the girl that Gahyeon is intent on avoiding. She seems pleased about something, judging from the smile on her face and the skip in her step. Gahyeon plasters a fake grin on her face and wraps her fingers around the straps of her backpack. Maybe, if she moves fast enough, they won't interact-

"What're you doing here, Gahyeon?" Bora asks, hopping right up to her. Gahyeon tries not to let her fear show on her face. "Isn't it date night?"

"Handong's running late," Gahyeon says. She tries to step around her. "So I figured I'd swing by here and uh, grab a snack. And return this thing to Yoohyeon." 

Bora cocks an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Gahyeon shakes her head. "Pff, no. Why do you ask?"

Bora waves her hand at Gahyeon's entire body and tugs the sleeves of her blue sweater up. "You look like you stole something, dude," she says. 

Gahyeon laughs awkwardly. "Really? That's weird. Must be, uh, you know, finals stress."

The shorter girl looks unconvinced, but she nods slowly. "If you say so," she mumbles. "We should hang out once this is over, before we move out for the summer."

"Absolutely!" Gahyeon nods way more aggressively and takes a step around Bora. "Sounds like a plan-"

From the depths of the backpack, Handong meows  _ loudly _ . Gahyeon's shoulders shoot up to her ears; she wills her legs to move faster than they might have ever moved before. Bora leans around. "Was that a  _ cat _ ?" she calls.

"Sorry, dude, gotta use the bathroom, talk to you later!" Gahyeon calls, bolting towards the tiny gender neutral restroom on the other side of the rec center entrance. She throws the door open - thank God for small favors, it is unoccupied - and rockets inside. Then, she locks the door, twists her backpack around, and glares into it. " _ Why _ would you do that?"

Handong the cat stares at her and blinks a few times. Then, she just lifts a paw and smooths the fur on her face. Gahyeon slides down the wall so she's sitting on the floor, unzips the bag, and pulls the cat out. "I'm trying to avoid telling Bora! You know this, dude!"

Handong bops her on the nose and meows. Gahyeon groans. "I know what I'm doing, Handong. Trust me. You'll get back to normal in no time." 

Judging from the look in her eyes, her girlfriend is unconvinced. Gahyeon sighs and puts her back in the bag. "Stop pulling shit like that and you'll be human in  _ no _ time." She zips the bag up again, stands up, cradles it in her arms. "Yoohyeon can definitely help us. She's smart."

Just to be safe, she flushes the toilet before exiting. She pokes her head out of the door and looks around. Bora is seemingly nowhere to be found, thankfully. She blows out a sigh of relief and makes her way back over to the rec center. Handong shifts in her arms. "Quiet," Gahyeon hisses as she pulls the door open. 

The rec center is a mess of screaming people crowding around the TV mounted against the far wall. There's a couch where people are usually sitting, but it has been abandoned in favor of a huddled mass of cheering people. There's likely only seven or eight of them, but they're making enough noise for twice that. "Blue shell!" someone shouts; it becomes a sort of chant. "Blue shell! Blue shell! Blue shell!"

Gahyeon squints up at the TV screen. Right. Friday night is Mario Kart night. That means Yoohyeon's somewhere in the mess and impossible to reach at this moment. "Kill 'em, Mingi!" someone else yells. 

" _ Who put that banana there? _ " 

"Get fucked!" That one sounds like Yoohyeon. "Third place, baby!" 

Gahyeon giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. Handong  _ prrp _ s, wiggles around, pokes her nose out of the bag. If all eyes weren't fixed on the game, Gahyeon would push her back down, but she's too busy laughing at them to care. Handong meows. "Yeah," Gahyeon replies. "They're idiots."

_ Mrrow-ow. _

"I'm not going to interrupt her now, are you kidding me?" She looks down at the brown tabby. "Especially not when she's this close to winning." 

"Final lap! Let's  _ go _ !" cries a different girl that Gahyeon doesn't recognize. Someone else has started singing along to the Waluigi Pinball music. A third person starts chanting someone's name. Gahyeon doesn't think she's seen a game of Mario Kart this serious in her life. 

Handong disappears into the bag again. Gahyeon uses that as her opportunity to creep closer. Judging from who Yoohyeon tends to main - Daisy - she's crept into front. Wario is close behind her. Third place is a full two turns behind them both. "C'mon, Yoohyeon!" Gahyeon cheers, getting swept into the energy of the crowd. "You can do it!" 

"Boom! Red shell!" shouts the boy playing Wario. He's standing off to the side; even hunched over as he is, he's making everyone else seem short. 

Yoohyeon wails from the center of the huddle. "Oh,  _ no _ you don't! Aha! Fuck! Not what I needed!" She throws the banana aside as cheers erupt from the gathered onlookers - they're chanting Mingi's name. "Damn, you're good," she says, leaning over to give him a fist bump. 

Mingi grins. "You're not bad either," he says. "Play again?"

Gahyeon hops up on her toes before she loses her chance. "Yoo- Yoohyeon, hey!" she calls, straining to make her voice heard over the crowd. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

Yoohyeon looks over her shoulder. "Oh, hi, Gahyeon. What're you doing here?" She holds up a finger, then turns back around, lifting her controller over her head. "Who else wants a turn?"

Gahyeon steps back towards the couch to get some space back. Yoohyeon eventually manages to break free from the mob; she dusts snack powder from her leggings and grins. "What's up? Isn't tonight date night?" she asks. 

"It's sure supposed to be," Gahyeon says. She motions for Yoohyeon to follow her over to the vending machine alcove, which seems to be deserted thanks to the Mario Kart-ing. "I gotta show you something."

Yoohyeon shrugs and does so. "Alright, what happened?" she says. She fishes her wallet out of the pocket of her hoodie and starts hitting the buttons on the drink machine. 

She's not looking at the backpack. Gahyeon sighs and unzips it more so that Handong can poke her head all the way out and meow. "So I turned Handongie into a cat."

Yoohyeon picks up the Pepsi from the vending machine, turns around, and drops it. "You  _ what _ ," she says. "That's Handong?"

The cat  _ prrp _ s. "Long story short, she drank my potion final," Gahyeon says. "And now I have to get her back to a human, but like, the antidote takes three days to brew, and we can't miss that much time, someone's gonna get suspicious."

Yoohyeon squats to pick up her soda, twists the lid, twists it shut again when it starts to bubble up. "Okay," she says, slowly and gently. "And you're coming to me… Why?"

"Um." Gahyeon blinks. "Because Yoobin told me to go to you if I didn't want to go Bora."

Yoohyeon twists the soda cap again. "Y'know she's just doing that so that she can ask Bora for help herself, right?" It opens without disaster, and she takes a sip. "My thing's illusions."

For far from the first time this evening, Gahyeon's heart drops. "R-Right," she says. Handong meows. "Figures as much. But Bora's gonna get mad and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Yoohyeon holds her hands up. "Bora's gonna get mad. I forgot about that."

Gahyeon nods. "Yeah, exactly." She teeters back and forth. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do?"

The taller girl tilts her head, her braid sliding to one side. "There's not  _ nothing _ . I definitely have some tricks up my sleeve." She takes another sip and wipes her mouth. "And if I don't, I'm pretty damn sure Minji will." She thrusts the bottle at Gahyeon. "Lemme grab my book, and then we can talk."

Gahyeon only barely grabs a hold of the bottle before Yoohyeon darts back out of the vending machine alcove again. A few drops spill onto the bag and the cat within it. Handong  _ prrp _ s. "Well, we're making progress," Gahyeon says. She wipes her thumb across the white patch of fur on Handong's forehead. "It's better than nothing."

Yoohyeon comes back in with a leather bound book with her name etched on the front cover. She unwinds the straps and flips it open. "Let's see, what do we got here- Oh, sit down. My legs are killing me." She drops cross legged between the two machines and starts to thumb through the pages. Gahyeon sits down too. Handong pokes her head further out of the bag. 

"You think anyone's gonna come back?" Gahyeon asks. 

Yoohyeon shakes her head, flipping a few pages. "Not until the tournament's done. They got all the snacks in the world over there." She taps the ground. "You can come out, Handong. I don't think anyone will care."

Handong does so eagerly. She squeezes through the hole in the top of the bag and leaps out with all the typical grace of a cat. Delicately, she lands on her feet, stretches each leg out one by one. Then, she smacks the bag until Gahyeon moves it, curls up in her lap, and meows. Instinctively, Gahyeon scratches between her ears. "What?" she asks, upon noticing Yoohyeon staring at her. 

"This is just bizarre, man." Yoohyeon shakes her head. "At least she seems to be enjoying herself."

Handong purrs and flicks her tail over her nose. 

After a moment's pause, Yoohyeon bends her book backwards to keep it open. "Alright, so," she says, leaning back and fishing her phone out of her pocket, "I can make her talk. And that's about it. But you know who  _ might _ be able to do something?"

"Minji?" Gahyeon asks. She pets that tuft of fur at Handong's chest. 

Yoohyeon nods. "She's a healer, and this is weird. Surely she can do something - and if she can't, she definitely knows someone who can." She pauses, her thumb hovering on the call button. "Oh, but maybe I should make Handong talk first." 

Handong meows in presumably agreement. Yoohyeon puts her hand on her book and whispers, " _ Na-ege malhae _ ." Yellow light crackles around her hand, making the letters in the book glow. It arcs from her fingertips to Handong's nose; the cat's eyes glitter gold for a moment. "Alright, you good, Handong?"

She opens her mouth in a massive yawn. "A little seasick from being carted around in a backpack for the past half an hour," she says in what is definitely Handong's voice. "But other than that, fine. It's not so bad, y'know?" She rolls on her back on Gahyeon's lap, stretches her paws. "Being a cat? I like being pet and carried."

Gahyeon squeaks a cry of relief and scoops her up in her arms. "Oh, it's so  _ good _ to hear your voice!" she says, squeezing Handong like a stuffed toy. "Oh, man, this is the worst night of my life."

"Gahyeonie- Gahyeon, I c-can't breathe." Handong's back paws pedal against her ribs until she's released. She hops off Gahyeon's chest and sits down in front of and between the two humans. "So, we're going to Minji's now, hm?"

Yoohyeon holds up a finger and actually dials this time. "We'll see. Don't say anything, I want this to be a surprise- Oh, hey there!" She waves - obviously, she's on Facetime. "Um, you doing anything important?"

Gahyeon leans over so that she can see the screen. Minji's sitting in her dorm, her librarian-like glasses perched on her nose, a ballpoint pen tucked behind her ear. "Kinda?" she says. "I was in the middle of studying. Hi, Gahyeon."

Yoohyeon snaps her fingers. "Not anymore you ain't," she says. "We have an emergency."

"Like, I'm going to the hospital emergency?"

Gahyeon shakes her head. "Oh, no! It's just… Well…"

Yoohyeon turns the camera around to show Handong, who's currently cleaning one of her paws with her teeth. "Say hello, Handong."

Handong drops her paw from her mouth. "Evening, Minji," she chirps. Her ears flick. "This is weird, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Minji pushes her glasses off her face. "Did the cat just- No way." She presses her hands together. "You're a cat."

"She drank my Potions final," Gahyeon says. 

Handong twitches her tail. "In my defense, it looked remarkably like Mountain Dew."

The older girl squeezes her eyes shut. "And now you're a cat. Oh, Lord." She slides her hands down her face. "Have you talked to Bora?"

"We've been trying to avoid that," Yoohyeon says. "You know how protective she is."

Minji lifts her eyebrows in an expression of  _ Yeah, I do _ . "Okay, well, the bad news is, I don't know what you guys expect me to do," she says. She takes the pen from behind her ear and taps it on the table. "But, I do know someone - my partner for my Psychomancy class, Olivia. She's a transmutation major, too. She should be able to help. I can text her?"

Gahyeon nods eagerly. "Would you?" Yoohyeon asks. 

"Absolutely. Tell you what." Minji picks her phone up. "I've been meaning to get up for a snack for a bit now. Let's meet at the mini mart so I can see the situation, and then we'll head back to the dorms from there. Sounds good?"

The two girls exchange a look. "Sounds good to me," Gahyeon says. 

Yoohyeon pouts. "Aw, I got a tournament to return to," she says. 

"At least walk us down there," Gahyeon says. She nudges her side. 

Minji sighs. "Besides, you play Mario Kart every Friday. Five minutes, okay?" She waves at the camera and hangs up. Yoohyeon sighs. 

"Does this mean that I have to go back in the bag?" Handong asks. The fur at the base of her neck is starting to rise. "No offense, Gahyeon, but I've had enough of that for at least a year." She shakes her head. 

Yoohyeon lifts a finger. "Why were you in the bag?" she asks, first. "I may have a solution to  _ that _ problem."

"Um," Gahyeon says, scratching the back of her neck. "I didn't apply to have a familiar, therefore, I can't be seen with a familiar." She holds her hands out to her girlfriend. "Just come here."

Yoohyeon taps her book. "What if I just turned her invisible? Then she can walk with us and no one would notice."

Handong  _ prrp _ s. "Yes, I like the sound of that."

They both look eagerly at the youngest girl. "That sounds good to me," she says with a shrug. "Alright, let's  _ go _ ." 

Yoohyeon presses her hand against the book; once again, the alcove is filled with the yellow glow of her magic. " _ Tumyeonghan _ ," she whispers. Sparks fly around the room, bouncing off the walls, circling Handong - and then the cat vanishes. Gahyeon can't help but feel a little pang of disappointment. 

"Don't worry about me," says Handong's voice from about the general vicinity of where she was a moment before. "I can take care of myself."

Yoohyeon pushes herself to her feet. "And we were all grateful." She holds her hand to Gahyeon, pulls her upright. "Let's make it snappy. I gotta get revenge on Mingi." She dusts off her pants. 

Gahyeon rolls her eyes playfully. "You're such a dork." 

"Less chatting, more walking!" Handong's voice calls, already at the door. The two humans scurry off to follow her. Not being able to see where the cat has gone is very unsettling. Gahyeon can't help but fear that someone's going to step on her, especially once they get back out on the plaza, with all the people milling about at the end of the night. She takes small steps and sticks close to Yoohyeon to avoid hurting her herself. This night was  _ going _ to end well. She would make sure of it. 

"I'll be back soon - save my spot," Yoohyeon calls to the gaggle of gamers still huddled around the coffee table. "Watch your back, Mingi." She draws her thumb across her neck and grins. "Those twenty bucks are gonna be mine!"

The taller boy waves his hand dismissively. Gahyeon squints at her friend while they continue out of the rec center and towards the stairs. "You're doing this for money?" she says, taking the steps three at a time. 

"Watch the tail!" Handong calls from somewhere below. Gahyeon pauses.

Yoohyeon shrugs. "Yeah," she says. "Not a lot. I think the most the pot's ever been is fifty, but that was when we had thirteen people playing." She tilts her head. "I won that one, somehow. But damn, Soyeon put up a fight. That was how I paid for dinner that time, remember?"

Gahyeon nods - she thinks she remembers, although Yoohyeon does have a habit of spending. "Is it really worth it?" she asks. She could always use some more money. And maybe some more practice at Mario Kart. 

"Eh. Days you win, you get more money then you'd get from a shift in, say, the library." Yoohyeon hops off the stairs and stretches. "But the competition's fierce, and you, Gahyeon, suck at Mario Kart." She waves her finger in Gahyeon's face. 

"I'm not  _ that _ bad," Gahyeon mumbles. She carefully picks her way towards the glass vestibule. "I'm better than  _ Minji _ ."

Handong meows from the doorway; Yoohyeon pushes it open, bending at an awkward angle to avoid stepping on the invisible cat. "That's not saying much. Minji only wins when I play  _ for _ her." She motions Gahyeon through. "She couldn't land a hit with a  _ red _ shell. She's that bad."

Gahyeon rolls her eyes. "Maybe you're just being mean," she says, stepping out into the plaza. 

Yoohyeon shrugs. "Maybe I am. But she's my girlfriend, I'm allowed to." She nudges Gahyeon's side. "You bully Handong all the time."

"I do  _ not- _ "

"I beg to differ," Handong calls. Her voice is floating from the middle of the plaza. There's a few students criss-crossing the area, but no one seems to notice the strange disembodied voice. Gahyeon lets out a sigh of relief. At least going to a magical university means things like this are decently, well, normal, for lack of a better term. That doesn't change the embarrassment her girlfriend calling her out brings. She rubs her warming cheeks and sighs. 

Yoohyeon taps her shoulder. "The mini mart's this way." She jerks a thumb over her shoulder. 

They make their way down the footpath back towards the dorms and the mini mart - the sun's already set, so the amount of people milling about campus is slowly dwindling. Despite the fact that it's finals week, the bass is thumping from the basement of the student union. For a moment, Gahyeon hesitates, trying to place the song, but Yoohyeon calls her name and she's on the way again. Judging from the indent on the grass, Handong is still farther ahead of all of them. "Wait," Gahyeon calls. "Maybe I should carry you again."

The grass stops indenting by a bench. "Why?" Handong asks. "I'm fine as is."

It feels pathetic to say that she's starting to get anxious, so Gahyeon just shrugs instead. "Just in case," she says. 

"I think Minji beat us there," Yoohyeon says. She's shielding her eyes with her hand. "She's talking to someone outside, but I can't tell who it is. Oo, maybe it's Olivia!"

She starts off towards the mart again, a skip in her step. Gahyeon holds her hands out to the bench. "C'mon, please?" she asks. 

Something soft and remarkably cat-shaped settles in her hands, although not without a long pause. "Fine, if you insist," her girlfriend says. Gahyeon curls her arms in and buries her cheek against what's probably Handong's neck. "Hey, this is getting weird."

"Sorry," Gahyeon says. "You're just so soft as a cat."

Handong purrs, which must mean she's laughing. "Well, cats tend to be," she says. 

They walk over to where Yoohyeon has stopped. Who's definitely Minji has been joined by two people. Gahyeon recognizes both of them. She almost drops Handong. "Ah, crud," she mutters, a sinking feeling dropping into her stomach. "That's Bora."

"Uh-huh." Yoohyeon pulls her little book out of the pocket of her hoodie and flips it open. "Welp, no point in hiding any longer."

Gahyeon tenses until Handong hisses. "Hey, that's not true! We could always pretend we got lost…?"

The older girl's already flipping through the pages again. "Going to the mini mart that knows me by name? On a campus I've been living on for two years?" She bends the book backwards and taps the pages a couple of times. "Might as well just come clean. Whatever Bora does to you can't be worse than this, at least." She laughs. "At least we know that I can make you talk, hm?" The words on the page glow a dull yellow; sparks swirl around the lump in Gahyeon's arms and reveal a fluffed up and tired looking brown tabby cat. 

"It won't be that bad, anyway," Handong says. She lifts a paw and smooths the fur above her eye. "I can promise you that."

Gahyeon sighs. "I mean, I don't want  _ anything _ to happen."

Yoohyeon shrugs. "It's a little late for that, isn't it?" She pats Gahyeon's shoulder. "Alright, I got a tournament to win. Good luck!"

Before Gahyeon can respond, she spins around and starts running back towards the Student Center, leaving the younger girl alone with her cat. "Well, screw you too!" Gahyeon calls. "C'mon,  _ man _ ."

Yoohyeon flashes her finger hearts and stumbles as she does so. Gahyeon rolls her eyes. "Well, that was karma," Handong says with a  _ prrp _ . "Let's finally get this over with."

"What if she turns me into a snake or a spider or something?" Gahyeon starts taking small steps towards the mini mart. 

Handong sighs. "She won't do that," she says. 

"But she  _ could _ -"

"-Yoobin said, yeah," Bora is saying as they approach. "She didn't give me details beyond that."

As usual, she's accompanied by Siyeon, who points at the shuffling Gahyeon and announces their arrival. "When'd you get a cat?" she asks. 

"An hour ago," Handong says. She starts to climb up Gahyeon's shoulder to get a better perch.

"Oh, my God," Bora says. She covers her mouth with her hands, but that does nothing to hide the growing grin on her face. "That- You turned Handong into a cat. Oh my  _ God _ ."

Minji crumples the top of the bag of Funyuns she's holding. "Where's Yoohyeon?" she asks, tilting her head. 

Handong is now wrapping herself around the back of Gahyeon's neck like a sentient furry scarf. "She ditched me," Gahyeon says. She waves her now free hand off to the side. "It's Mario Kart night."

The older girl nods solemnly and pushes her glasses up her nose. "I'm amazed you got her away from that game for as long as you did."

"I can fix this," Bora says. She reaches her hand out to pet Handong's nose. "You do want me to fix this, right?"

Handong purrs. "Well, it's not too bad, y'know? But yes, I do." She leans into Bora's hand seemingly instinctively. It knocks her off balance, and she digs her claws into Gahyeon's shoulder. The girl yelps and bats her off. "Shit!" 

Siyeon swoops in to catch her, and Bora just laughs. "Maybe  _ don't _ kill your girlfriend, eh, Gahyeon?" she says, her eyes glittering. "Let's get to my room. All the chalk's in there."

Gahyeon rubs her shoulder. Handong's claws left tiny holes in her sweater. "Are- Are you mad?" she stammers. 

Siyeon's still holding Handong; she and Bora have already started walking off in the direction of the Leez Building. The smaller girl shrugs. "Not really," she says. She holds up two fingers. "Just a bit. A smidgen. Don't think you're getting off free, Gahyeonie!" She sings the last few words and trails off into a good-natured giggle.

Gahyeon deflates. At least she's not  _ mad _ mad. Minji offers her the snack bag, and she gratefully takes a few. "You know she's only doing that because Yoobin told her that's what you're afraid of, right?" the older girl says, popping a Funyun into her mouth. "If you hadn't given her the idea…"

"Ugh," Gahyeon mutters. "I'm such an idiot."

Minji pats her on the back. "It's finals week. No one has any brain cells to spare. Here, I'll walk you back to the dorms, but then I gotta get back to work." She smiles. "Cheer up. There's not much Bora can do with Handong in the room."

_ Aside from turn me into a naked mole rat, maybe _ , Gahyeon thinks, but she doesn't say that out loud. Instead, she says, "I guess not." 

"Y'all coming or not?" calls Bora from the other end of the sidewalk. She and Siyeon are  _ far _ ahead of them. Gahyeon breaks into a jog to catch up. 

The group travels into the elevator and up two floors, where Bora's room is. Minji continues on up. Gahyeon thinks for a moment about just following her, but Handong's giving her a look over Siyeon's shoulder that keeps her with the rest of the group. "How did this happen?" Siyeon asks, while Bora searches for her swipe card. 

"She drank my Potions final," Gahyeon says.

Handong  _ prrp _ s and puts her paw over Siyeon's shoulder; the girl cranes her neck to give her more space. "I didn't mean to, I was just thirsty. It  _ was  _ in a Mountain Dew bottle, after all."

Gahyeon's face flushes. "I was out of containers!" she squeaks. "You would have done the same- well, if you did my kind of magic." She trails off and fiddles with the chain of Handong's necklace. "No point in hiding this anymore."

Bora swipes her card and opens the door. "Welcome to  _ La Kim Casa _ ," she says, making a sweeping gesture around the room. "Ignore the mess in the kitchen. That was definitely not me." She slides inside and heads for the back. Her and Yoohyeon's dorm is set up much like Gahyeon and Handong's - two beds against the left wall, two desks on the other side, a small kitchenette tucked into one side. Against the back wall is a massive closet that's overflowing with clothing. Siyeon rolls her eyes and takes a seat on the closer bed, letting Handong free as she does so. 

"Why don't you come here, Gahyeon?" she calls, patting the mattress next to her. The cat has taken a seat on the pillow. "You look like you've been running around all night."

The youngest girl shuffles over and obliges. "Because I have," she says. She smooths the fabric of her jeans. "Trying to avoid this." Slips her backpack off and holds it in her lap. 

Siyeon smirks slightly. "You know you made a self fulfilling prophecy, right?" she says. "Like, you gave her the idea?"

"Minji told me." She hugs the backpack to her chest. "Man, tonight's been a disaster."

"Found it!" Bora sings. She lifts a small, glittery purple bag and waves it. "Handong, c'mere. You'll have more space over-" she pauses, kicks something out of the way, shrugs- "here, once you turn back to normal." 

Handong stretches and hops off the bed. "Right!" she chirps. Turning to her girlfriend, she butts her head against her leg and says, "Hey, it'll be a funny story to tell later. Besides, it wasn't  _ that _ bad."

She holds her head up, and Gahyeon assumes that's to give her a final pet. She rubs the white spot between her ears. "Sorry for ruining date night," she says. 

"Apology accepted," Handong purrs. She turns and darts around the other bed. Gahyeon huffs a sigh, then stands up. 

Bora is starting to draw a chalk sigil on the ground, judging from the squeaks. "Wait!" Gahyeon calls. She picks up the backpack and waves it frantically. "She's, uh, gonna come back naked. Her clothes are in here." She leans over the bed, dangling it by a strap over the sigil. 

Bora sits back on her heels and takes it before it falls from Gahyeon's hands and smudges the sigil. "Good that you remembered. Woulda been awkward otherwise, hm?" She grins. "Go sit down, I'm not ready for you." Then she waves her off and turns back to the drawing on the ground. 

Handong laughs. "Go easy on her, will you?"

"Oh, I have the  _ perfect _ plan." Her grin widens somehow. Gahyeon feels a chill building in the pit of her stomach. "Alright, hop in, but don't smudge anything!" 

Gahyeon flops backward on the bed, next to Siyeon, and throws her arms over her eyes. The older girl pats her on the shoulder. "It'll be fine, Gahyeon," she says. "It's almost over."

Gahyeon just responds with, " _ Ahhh _ ."

From under the flesh of her wrists she can see purple light flaring up from the other side of the room - sparks fly and swirl and shimmer. She lifts her head when the glow fades to see Bora facing the wall and Handong's head poking up from behind the bed. "Hello again," she says, and she waves. "It is  _ quite _ nice to have hands again."

Gahyeon breathes a sigh of relief. "Hallelujah!" she says. "Hurry up and get dressed so we can get back to our room. I have a final to redo and  _ maybe _ a date to make up."

Handong tugs her t-shirt over her head. "What do you think I'm doing, dear?" She rubs her face. "Don't worry about that part. Your homework's more important, anyway." She stands up and dusts some chalk dust off her pants. "Gimme me my necklace back, please."

Gahyeon pushes herself to a sitting position and unloops the magnifying glass from around her neck. "Yeah, but homework's boring," she says. "Catch." She tosses it underhand. Handong barely manages to catch it. 

"Also, we're not done here yet!" Bora chirps, shoving Handong out of the way. "Get over here, Gahyeon. I got a surprise for you." She claps her hands. 

Gahyeon winces. "Ah- Actually, I think I really do need to do that assignment-" she says. She stands up. "So! I think I'll be going- Now- Hey!" Siyeon's arm snakes around her waist, keeping her from moving. "Let- Lemme go!"

"No can do, Gahyeonie," Siyeon says. She hugs her tighter. "I want to see this."

Gahyeon whimpers. "N-No, you don't have to do this! Actually, I apologized, see? And it was an accident! Let me go!" She pushes at Siyeon's hands; when that doesn't work, she turns, pleadingly, to her girlfriend, who's looking pointedly at the ceiling and smiling like she doesn't care. "B-Babe, you can't let them do this to me!" Gahyeon squeaks. "Please, please, please-"

Handong chuckles. "Do what? I can't see a thing."

Siyeon stands up, and Gahyeon realizes she's out of options. "It's only fair," Bora says. "You both get a turn." She motions the two of them over. Stiffly, her arms pinned to her sides, Gahyeon waddles towards the circle. "Relax, Gahyeon. It won't be that bad."

Gahyeon squirms, trying to smudge up the circle, but all she manages to do is trip herself. She starts screaming. " _ No _ ! I don't wanna be a naked mole rat! Or a bird! Or a snake!" She starts to thrash her legs. That is stopped by Handong sitting down on her. "Why aren't you helping me, dammit?"

Her girlfriend laughs and presses a finger to her nose. "Think of this as payback for throwing me around in the backpack," she says. 

Bora crouches and taps the circle; Gahyeon squeezes her eyes shut. Purple light flickers on the back of her eyelids. She doesn't open her eyes until it fades. 

There's something sticking to the back of her leg, and Bora is giggling like a madman. "Oh, that's adorable," Siyeon says. Slowly, Gahyeon opens her eyes, then looks around. 

"What?" she asks. She looks at her hands. "What's… What?"

Tipping her fingers are tiny claws. She puts her fingers to her face and realizes that her nose has changed shape; sprouting from her cheeks are thin whiskers that tickle when she brushes them. In horror, she pats the top of her head and finds a small pair of triangular ears. "Oh my god," she breathes. She shoves Handong off of her lap and forces herself to her feet. "Bora- You-" She touches the thing on her leg; it's long and thin and she's in control of it. It is most definitely a tail being pinned by her pants. She whirls around to face Bora. "You turned me into a  _ catgirl _ ?"

Bora grins. "Handong was a cat, you're a catgirl. It makes sense, if you think about it." She shoos Gahyeon out of the circle. "It'll wear off sometime tomorrow. Don't worry." 

" _ Tomorrow _ ?" Gahyeon waves her hands - she can't figure out how to make her claws retract, so it's nerve wracking. "H-Hang on, we solved the problem in an hour, that's not fair! I can't leave the dorm looking like- like-" She's silenced by a hand rubbing one of her ears. Involuntarily, she purrs, something like that at least. "Oh, that's nice, actually."

Handong laughs. "Let's get you back to our dorm," she says. She lifts her hand from Gahyeon's head. "Here, you can take my cardigan to hide."

Gahyeon pouts. "Thanks," she says. She glares at Bora. "You are a cruel woman. This tail hurts."

Bora's eyes glitter. "Don't you have a final to do?" she says. 

Handong tosses her cardigan around her girlfriend's shoulders and steers her out of the dorm room and back down the hallway towards the elevator. Gahyeon tugs the hood around her head. "What a night," she mutters, more to herself than anyone else. 

Handong pushes the elevator button. "Sure was," she says. 

The door slides open with a  _ ding _ \- and of course, it is occupied, because it simply must be. "Gahyeon?" Hongjoong asks, tilting his head. "Man, you've been having a weird night, huh?"

Handong snickers. Gahyeon grumbles something that sounds sort of like a meow. "You can say that again," she says, stepping inside. "Going up?"

The boy nods and hits the button to make the doors close. "Yeah, me and Seonghwa're on the top floor. Did you get the bag thing worked out?" 

Handong laughs again. Gahyeon steps on her toe. "Yup," she says. 

"Is  _ she _ okay?" Hongjoong gestures at the other girl. Gahyeon just shakes her head. 

"Sorry," Handong says, between giggles. "Finals brain. You- You know how it is."

He just smiles awkwardly. "Yeah, sure do." The door slides open on their floor, and Gahyeon hurries out. "Hope your skin clears up, dude!" 

This time, Handong waits for the door to shut before she starts laughing. Gahyeon sighs, tugging the cardigan tighter around her. Her phone buzzes in her pocket. Yoohyeon, probably, asking what happened. She can wait. Gahyeon isn't going to leave her bed until this wears off. 

"You know," Handong says, swiping her card to unlock the door, "I think this might be better than any date night we've had. What do you think, dear?" She holds the door open; Gahyeon shuffles in and flops face down on the bed. 

"I think," she says into her pillow, "that it's good  _ you _ enjoyed yourself, at least."

Handong walks closer to her and pets her between the ears. 


End file.
